The field of the invention is disconnect switches, and more particularly, manually operated disconnect switches having a set of movable contact blades which are carried by a crossbar and pivoted between an opened and closed position by a manually operated trip mechanism.
In a disconnect switch such as that disclosed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 516,388 entitled "Disconnect Switch, " each pole of the three-pole switch is enclosed within its own separate compartment formed by an integrally molded base. Each pole includes a stationary contact which connects to an input line terminal, a movable contact which is mounted to a rotatable crossbar, and an output line terminal which electrically connects to the movable contact. Each pole also includes a modular arc chute which is slidably received in a mating cavity formed within each compartment and positioned directly over the contacts to extinguish any arcs which are generated when the switch is opened. The elements of each pole are accessible from the front of the compartment.
Disconnect switches are often employed with other electrical components to form control circuits, and in such applications, auxiliary contacts are mounted to the switch base for operation by the crossbar. In the above cited copending patent application, for example, the auxiliary contacts are contained in cartridges which are inserted in auxiliary chambers located between the pole compartments. The wire terminals on each cartridge are accessible from the front of the disconnect switch.